1945 was, in Dr. A. J. Piekaar’s Atjèh and the War with Japan, the year of the Japanese capitulation of 15 August 1945, the proclamation of the Republic of Indonesia on 17 August 1945, and the appointment of Teukoe Moehamad Hasan as republican Governor of Sumatra. It marked the end of the three‑and‑a‑half‑year Japanese occupation of Aceh, the brief re‑establishment of Dutch authority under the Allied Military Administration Civil Affairs Branch, and the opening of the Allied landings that triggered a rapid social revolution sweeping away the oelèëbalang aristocracy. The events of 1945 also signalled the broader termination of World War II in the archipelago and the commencement of the Indonesian National Revolution, which directly affected Aceh and the surrounding regions.
Japanese capitulation of 15 August 1945
Piekaar records that “when on 14 August, in the Muslim fasting month, unexpectedly the Japanese capitulation came, the preparations for the Allied invasion were in full swing.” The formal surrender is dated to 15 August 1945. In August the English fleet appeared before Sabang and a temporary naval base was established there. The Dutch navy and the Dutch administration, acting as part of the Amacab, also entered the area. Thousands of enterprise workers from Atjèh, East Sumatra and Tapanoeli who had performed slave labour on Sabang “were transferred to the mainland.” On the mainland the Allied (English) occupation was limited to the ports of Medan, Padang and Palembang. The plans of the Chief Co Amacab, Governor of Sumatra A. I. Spits, “had to remain unused.”
Allied landing and the Amacab administration
The Allied entry, led by British forces, created a power vacuum that the Amacab filled. Dutch civil administration re‑asserted control in the main towns, yet the limited reach of the occupation left large parts of Aceh under de‑facto local authority. This situation set the stage for the rapid spread of nationalist sentiment and the subsequent social revolution.
Proclamation of the Republic and the appointment of Teukoe Moehamad Hasan
The proclamation of the Republic on 17 August 1945—and the appointment of an Atjèhnese, Mr. Teukoe Moehamad Hasan, as republican Governor of Sumatra—“gradually changed the situation.” The combination aligned the residency firmly with the Republic and supplied the Poesa–oelama party with a political instrument it had lacked. The oelèëbalangs, freed from Japanese pressure, immediately sought to restore their former power, rallying around Teukoe Hadji Tjhi’ Moehamad Djohan Alam Sjah of Peusangan, “the symbol of the resistance of the oelèëbalang party.” On 7 September 1945—the hari raja puasa—“oelèëbalangs from all of Aceh traveled to Koetaradja to offer him their congratulations.”
Japanese retreat and the Masubuchi‑kikan
The Japanese retreat was as humiliating as the Allied entry had been triumphant. “As triumphant as the entry had been, so shameful was the evacuation. The years of pent‑up hatred of the fanatic population against the new oppressors was unleashed on the retreating troops.” In the final months of occupation, Masubuchi—released on 3 July 1945 from the leadership of the economic affairs department—“took upon himself the task of creating a new 5th column organization, which shortly—in the event of an Allied invasion—would have to carry out its destructive work behind the Allied lines.” Said Aboe Bakar, Teukoe Panglima Pólém Moehamad Ali, Teungkoe Moehamad Daoed Beureu’éh and Teukoe Moehamad Amin took leading parts in the new Masubuchi‑kikan—“the old F‑organization would resume its task as M‑organization.”
The 4th session of the Atjèh Council and the Sumatra Council
The 4th session of the Atjèh Council met on 20 April 1945–21 April 1945 “again simultaneously with the semi‑annual gun‑chó conference,” and raised the rice‑delivery quota for the harvest year 1945/1946 from 22 000 to 33 000 tons. March 1945 saw the establishment of an advisory body for the whole of Sumatra, the Sumatra Council (Sumatora‑chú‑sangi‑in) at Bukittinggi, of which Teukoe Nja’ Arif was appointed deputy chairman. The council, like the rest of the late‑occupation administration, “acquired more and more an unreal character.”
Symbolic military events: the vaandel of the Korps Maréchaussee
According to the Dutch staff history (Nederlands‑Indië contra Japan), Lieutenant Onvlee was transferred to Bangkok in November 1945 where the disposition of the vaandel (colours) of the Korps Maréchaussee was settled. The vaandel had been temporarily handed over to the Dutch camp commander in March 1944. On 10 May 1945 the vaandel (minus its gold tassels) was returned to Onvlee’s possession. The narrative illustrates the chaotic handling of Dutch military symbols during the final months of the Japanese captivity.
Liberation and transition (Aceh)
The Japanese surrender on 15 August 1945 led to a brief re‑establishment of Dutch authority, which was swiftly contested by Indonesian nationalists. Allied forces entered the archipelago, and in Aceh the power vacuum allowed local nationalist leaders to emerge, later joining the broader struggle for Indonesian independence. The end of the Jappentijd and the proclamation of independence on 17 August 1945 inaugurated the 1945–1949 Indonesian Revolution, during which former members of the Marechaussee formed the Andjing Nica (5e Bataljon), one of the principal Dutch formations of the revolution. The tangsi culture, previously broken by the Japanese occupation, had largely disappeared by August 1945, and the subsequent conflict was fought by a reconstituted colonial army rather than the old K.N.I.L..
Post‑war military reforms
The experience of the war prompted the Dutch to reorganise their amphibious capabilities, culminating in the creation of a modern Royal Netherlands Marine Corps brigade. This development is referenced in contemporary Dutch military literature (see page 415 of De geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Korps Mariniers van 1665‑1945).
Significance
The year 1945 ended the Japanese occupation but did not restore Dutch authority in Aceh. The hesitant Allied re‑occupation gave the Poesa–oelama forces time to consolidate the social revolution that, within months, swept away the oelèëbalang class throughout the residency and aligned the region firmly with the Indonesian Republic. The capitulation, the proclamation, the appointment of Teukoe Moehamad Hasan, and the chaotic handling of Dutch military symbols together mark, in Piekaar’s reading, the hinge between the Japanese and republican eras, while the broader events of 1945 set the stage for the Indonesian National Revolution and the post‑war restructuring of Dutch military forces.
See Also
- Japanese capitulation of 15 August 1945
- Amacab
- Teukoe Moehamad Hasan
- A. I. Spits
- Masubuchi-kikan
- Teukoe Hadji Tjhi’ Moehamad Djohan Alam Sjah
- Teungkoe Moehamad Daoed Beureu-éh
- Atjèh Council
- 1944
- Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies
- World War II in the Dutch East Indies
- Netherlands East Indies
- Aceh
- Royal Netherlands Marine Corps
Source
Atjèh and the War with Japan, by Dr. A. J. Piekaar, translated from the Dutch original Atjèh en de oorlog met Japan (1949) (‘s‑Gravenhage/Bandung: N.V. Uitgeverij W. van Hoeve; English edition), Chapter VII § 4, Chapter XIII.
Nederlands‑Indië contra Japan, Deel VI: De strijd op Ambon, Timor en Sumatra, bewerkt door C. van den Hoogenband en L. Schotborgh (‘s‑Gravenhage: Staatsdrukkerij‑ en Uitgeverijbedrijf, 1959), Hoofdstuk V (“De strijd in Noord‑Sumatra (Atjeh)”), Bijzondere verrichtingen na de capitulatie — Het veiligstellen van het vaandel van het Korps Maréchaussee, pp. 154–155.
Oom Ambon van het K.N.I.L., by G. W. T. Dames, Maj. Inf. K.N.I.L. b.d. (‘s‑Gravenhage: Koninklijke Bibliotheek, 1954), chapters “Jappentijd,” “Onder Brits bewind,” and “Onzekerheid.”
De geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Korps Mariniers van 1665‑1945, OCR edition, pages 410‑415 (coverage of the war years 1940‑1945 and the post‑war situation).